St Andrews Prize for the Environment

The St Andrews Prize for the Environment is a prestigious international environmental award funded and administered by the University of St Andrews in Scotland, United Kingdom. Prior to 2020, the American exploration and production company ConocoPhillips sponsored the prize. The award recognises significant contributions to environmental issues and concerns aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals. Applications are invited from individuals, multi disciplinary teams or community groups. The winning environmental project receives funding of US$100,000 and each of the two runners up receive US$25,000. The current Chair of the eight person judging panel is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Hayaatun Sillem.

YearRegion ServedWinnerInitiativeURL2023Alianza CeiboEmpowers indigenous populations of the Upper Amazon in South America to conserve rainforest territories and preserve local cultures.2022Misión TiburónCommunity based project to protect and restore blue carbon sinks in the Hammerhead Shark Sanctuary.2021Snowchange CooperativeA landscape rewilding programme which incorporates indigenous knowledge to tackle ecosystems affected by climate change, especially peatlands, in the Arctic and boreal areas of Finland. 2020Conservation Through Public HealthA project which takes a multi faceted approach to conservation integrating approaches addressing biodiversity conservation, health advances and livelihood improvements for local communities.2019Saathi Using agricultural waste to create a biodegradable menstruation product for women in parts of rural India.

YearRegion ServedWinnerInitiativeURL2018The Mountain Institute Restoration of an ancestral water system to tackle water scarcity issues in the Nor Yauyos Cochas Landscape Reserve of Peru.2017Plantwise Improving information dissemination to reduce reliance on harmful pesticides, increase crop yields and to improve food security. 2016Liter of Light An innovative source of light which involves refracting light from a solution in a plastic bottle to brighten homes and produce no carbon emissions.2015Wild Chimpanzee FoundationA multi level conservation project, which aims to protect the largest remaining population of wild Chimpanzees on the Foutah Djallon Bafing River (FDBR) region in Guinea, West Africa.2014Blue VenturesEmpowering local communities in southwest Madagascar to protect their marine environment and manage their resources sustainably by integrating holistic community based health services within local biodiversity conservation initiatives.2013Elephants and BeesProject developed from the behavioural discovery that honey bees can be used as a natural deterrent to crop raiding elephants.2012Lion GuardiansThirty two non literate Maasai warriors in Kenya were trained and employed as community conservationists and field biologists.2011BioliteAn innovative cookstove, which provides improved air quality and a clean economic source of electricity inside the home.2010Bhaskar Sen GuptaAn innovative method of removing arsenic from groundwater without using chemicals.2009One Earth Designs For the development of a high performance solar cooker (SolSource) to meet the needs of Himalayan villagers. The SolSource 3 in 1 project aims to supply clean energy for cooking, heating, and thermo electricity generation to high altitude low income communities.

YearRegion ServedWinnerInitiativeURL2008 Ian Thorpe The Elephant Toilet provides an innovative and sustainable sanitation solution which could benefit millions of people across Africa, and beyond.2007 David Manalo River, Fibre and Power Project providing sustainable lighting services in remote locations in the Philippines.2006 Erika Vohman Promoting the use of Maya nut in Central America.2005Pump AidCreation of the Elephant Pump, a pump built using simple technology and locally available materials.2004Conrad Feather Deployment of GPS and other similar technologies to enable the Nahua people of Peru to map and better understand the land they live on.2003Bunker Roy Founding of the Barefoot College in Rajasthan to train semi literate and non literate women to spread solar energy in remote Himalayan villages.2002Monina Escalada In collaboration with the International Rice Research institute of the Philippines, rice farmers in Northern Vietnam were persuaded to limit usage of insecticides.2001George Odera OutaA team from the University of Nairobi led by Outa developed a community education project to combat the environmental hazards that affect Lake Victoria.2000Hikmat Hilal and Amer El Hamouz A team from An Najah National University in the West Bank put forward a proposal to turn the waste from olive oil production into useful by products.1999Daniel Limpitlaw Limpitlaw's work on further understanding the links between early mining developments and subsequent environmental degradation.